We use media to spread or communicate information. Media is also used to get information that we need. David Buckingham believes that media includes a variety of traditional and modern communications tools, including television, photography and movies.
Mass media is a term that refers to a wide range of communication tools. Media devices have become a huge part of modern life. Users around the globe use them in a variety of languages. Media is unavoidable in today’s world, and everyone agrees on that. Anyone can access the media at any time and anywhere. The media and entertainment are always linked together because we need to be entertained. Mass media is now more important than ever. Mass media became the most efficient communication tool because of its technology. This includes advertising, marketing as well as social media.
Pornography is the depiction of sexual behaviour in books and magazines. Movies, websites, and other media can all be used to stimulate arousal. The community can have a different standard of what is considered pornography or erotic art.
Pornography has a very personal meaning. History of pornography is not a thing that can be interpreted in any way. Pornography can be used to criticize a representational process in which sexual desire is perceived by one society. In many modern Muslim countries, the majority of TV shows and motion pictures are referred to as pornography. Western societies would not argue with this. Pornography can be categorized as a form of entertainment that is available to viewers and audiences.
The promotion of the creation of obscene works began in Europe in the early days of printing. The main purpose of most of these works was to entertain the audience and stimulate their desire for arousal. In classical works, the authors treated the joys as well as the despairs that come with marital deceit.
Pornography was not only a major vehicle for sexual protest, but also a powerful tool in the social and political realm. Pornography allowed men and woman to explore new ideas, including sexual freedom. Both the state and church condemned such matters. A lot of sexual content also focused on illegal acts by royals and other aristocrats.
Since the beginning, pornographic media have been condemned and made illegal. Pornography can corrupt both adults and minors, leading to sex crimes. Sometime, non-secular or significant works that are artistically important can also be prohibited. They may be regarded as pornographic. These assumptions have been challenged both legally and scientifically. In many countries, pornographic material that is obscene or relates to it can be prosecuted for production, distribution and even possession. There are different standards of law in the world. However, many countries in Europe or North America have maintained their representations and depictions as being a standard in pornography since decades.
Media Pornography’s Impact on SocietyThe production and consumption of pornography began to gain popularity in the nineteenth century. Media pornography grew in popularity in 1960s despite the fact that pornography started in early 1920s. In the 1980s and 1990s, videocassettes and digital video discs were developed. This led to a greater distribution of pornographic material. Pornographic media has also spread more widely since the advent of the Internet. It became a platform that was easy to use and accessible from anywhere. The pornography industry was the most lucrative in the world of media during this time. Through the rise of social media, people began to post their own pictures. This often challenged the standards or concepts of beauty that the world’s eyes should have seen. This has been a constant issue for people who try to live up to the standards of media beauty and have even done harmful things to fit in. Pornography is not only a huge market for commercials, but it also deals with standards and how everyone tries to be or do them.
Adults and adolescents are both exposed to pornography. As we know, pornography is a way to satisfy sexual urges, but the effects are negative. It can affect people psychologically, emotionally and even physically. These negative effects can increase depression, anxiety and violent behavior. They may also cause a rise in teen pregnancy issues, as well as a rise in the rate of sexual arousal at earliest ages.
Journal of Adolescent Research found that 67% of boys and 49% of girls accepted pornographic media as a reality in 2008. These sexual contents will be everywhere. A 2010 survey of English-speaking students found that about a third of children aged 14-16 were exposed to sexual material as young as 10 years old. Another survey conducted in 2011 revealed that 31% of adolescents admitted to browsing adult websites online. A second survey revealed that 51% of male adults and 32% female adults claimed they had watched pornography or grown up around it before the age of 13. Pornography, not only among adults but also among children and teenagers, is on the rise in American culture. It is also impossible to deny that the pornographic media continues to grow in popularity around the world.
Many studies showed that sexually explicit content in media affects adults negatively. This can lead to social problems, interpersonal conflicts, and attachment. To describe the social characteristics, Mesch used an Israeli sample from 2004 who were aged between 13 and 8. Mesch’s study, which used quantitative methodology, found that teens who had a preference for socializing and bonding with other people were less likely than others to use sexually offensive material. This was because their peers interacted with them less. Pornography consumption correlates with aggressiveness. This relationship was statistically significant between the consumption rate of pornographic content and aggressive behavior at school.
The internet exposes children to pornography as early as age five. It is possible that the material of a parent or a close adult could be viewed by a child. Children have often reported feelings of disgust, shame, embarrassment and anger after being exposed to pornography. The child was mainly affected by anxiety. Children may experience depression or obsession over the sexual content of the videos they watch. This can also cause a lot of distress to the child’s peers and environment. Children are being exposed to sexual exploitation aimed at grooming by sexual predators. If children are exposed to pornographic material, they may be more likely to show faulty behaviors or adapt badly to certain situations or environments.
Pornography can lead to violence and sexual aggression towards women. Men who watch pornography often may believe that the appearance of women can lead to rape, or even enjoy sexual assault. In most pornographic films, the male and female aggressiveness is compared verbally or physically. Sexually degrading actions are also portrayed. It was shown that pornography that is violent and sexist has a direct correlation with male extreme behaviors. Fifty Shades of Grey, a popular erotic, romance, and drama film, which portrays sexual acts of modern couples instead of normal couples, has become a breakthrough. The movie’s characterization and storyline have been changed to show that women enjoy sexual assault. This movie appears to be a romance film with some transgressions.
Dating applications are used to send out explicit videos and pictures of nude people, or even naked photos. It is a way to convey the breaking out of media-pornographic content that happens in our daily lives or can even be a new trend.
It is important to note that society plays a major role in the impact of sexual media, lifestyles, and content on a child or teenager’s life. L. Callahan Rodriguez believes that the society has many factors which are important for the growth of a child or adolescent. These include values, norms, parents, peers, and even the media. These youngsters are influenced by how society and the world are presented to them in their everyday life. The way society portrays sexuality or views it may influence the mindset of these young people to deal with certain sexual issues. The way they view pornographic content will depend on their personal perspectives. The youngsters may become more secretive if they perceive a pornographer as negative.
Parents are the adults in the lives of children. The parents are the most important adults in the lives of children. Their own children will look up and depend on them. The parents are the ones who have to take on the biggest responsibility in shaping children’s lives and their future. The parents must teach their children how society functions to help them adapt and understand. However, children’s social, mental, and physical development must also be guided so that they can understand the challenges of today. Parents are usually also blamed for being unable to control their children’s negative behaviors, such as maternity problems and sexual activity at an early age.
Numerous studies have shown that adolescents who are exposed to sexual content at an early age, were influenced not only by their parents but also by the media that they could access from home. Ragsdale, et.al. report that 74.9% are learning sex. The parents of 15% of children were not the ones who taught them that sex can be casual or is something common for their age range. The adolescents are learning about sexual expectations from the environment they feel comfortable or casual in. It felt awkward for them to discuss sex with their parents. They prefer to learn about sexuality through the media that they see on television or online. The information would be derived from the opinions and impressions of their friends.
Media effects have been the subject of numerous psychological and social studies that can be carried out using the applied theory which applies to pornographic mediums. The Arousal Theory is first. This theory is based on the idea that people have different motivation levels. This theory is based on the work of psychologist Daniel Berlyne. Berlyne, based on Hull’s Drive Reduction Theory, tried to explain how arousal affects curiosity. Berlyne argues that there is an optimum level of stimulation for each individual. If arousal levels are below optimal, then the organism may engage in exploratory behavior. Berlyne also suggested that curiosity can result in confusion, perplexity, contradictions and inconsistencies. Pornographic material can be powerful enough to influence some children or adolescents even though it is suggestive. These individuals may face immediate consequences.
The Safety Valve Theory of A.O. Hume suggests that pornographic media is a result of an individual’s sexual needs and desires.
In the Disinhibition Theory of sexuality, experiences in childhood and adolescence that aren’t supposed to happen early on can inhibit sexuality. There are more sexual behaviors among children and adolescents due to constant media exposure. L. Berkowitz’s hypothesis suggests that the young adults may have adapted and accepted such a level of behavior. Social media portrayals of sexual or pornographic content can lead people to accept pornography as normal.
Facebook has 2 billion users. New York Post reported that Facebook is again a place where child pornography occurs. Facebook removed 18 pictures out of the 100 sexualized photographs of children that the BBC reported. According to the BBC report, Facebook failed to act upon reports that five pedophiles who were convicted of crimes had Facebook accounts that violated their rules.
The Guardian reported that Facebook was experiencing a recent spike in cases of revenge porn or sexual extortion. In January 2017, there were only about 54,000 possible cases. The company blocked over 14,000 accounts in connection with these disputes. Of those, 33 were children.
Facebook was also responsible for a possible increase of 2,450 cases where sexually explicit content (videos and photos) were used to blackmail people. Sextortion is on the rise. Total 14,130 accounts had been disabled. Facebook’s own research teams have taken on 16 cases. These are only a few of the many porn-related issues that Facebook has been dealing with.
The Star claims that Malaysia was the number one country for South-East Asia in terms of Internet porn (IP). This included uploading photos and visualizing child pornography. About 20,000 internet addresses were found in Malaysia. According to the Dutch Police stationed at Malaysia, in 2015, there were approximately 17,338 child pornographic IP addresses. These data were revealed by Asst Comm Ong Chin Lan, the Sexual, Women and Child Investigation Division, Royal Malaysian Police, D11, during the Cyber Protection for Children seminars.
The Star reported that 51% of children aged 13-15 years old had relationships with people who commited illegal and harmful acts through WeChat. Facebook, WhatsApp, Beetalk and other channels were also available. Malaysia’s development is not as advanced as other Southeast Asian countries. Malaysia ranked highest in Internet Porn. This shows the lack of enforcement of the law regarding media content. A new government would also need to be able enforce different laws to prevent Malaysians from being influenced pornographic media.
ConclusionMedia pornography has a huge impact on society. The negative effects of modern society’s acceptance, exposure and consumption are most evident towards young children and adolescents. Media pornography can have a negative impact on the media. But pornography has been a vehicle to gain attention in various industries such as entertainment, politics, or even business. The symbol of sex has been a social phenomenon for decades. It was still one of the main platforms used to set or publicize agendas.
Pornography on media must be strictly prohibited before it becomes worse. Sexual content being a part of everyday life can have a lot of negative consequences for society. The most susceptible to being influenced by these contents are young children and adolescents.